Decieve
by astral.anomaly
Summary: Who is Hatabou?
1. Chapter 1

"You're not my friends, so I don't care, jo."

If Hatabou had a weakness, it would be friendship. Although independent most times, he doesn't deal with loneliness every well. He can run a business on his own without anyone's help in doing so, but cannot bear feeling alone in the world.

And what's even worse is to have someone threaten the only friends he has.

What would he do then? Make a sacrifice? Or forget it and move on?

"You would care if I told you I'd strike the ones you love most dead," his former employee threatened, "And don't you dare mentioning butchering me into NEET meat." She added in slyly, knowing of Hatabou's 'mystery meat' he had sold to the Matsuno sextuplets.

But Hatabou stared as a response. Not saying a word or even blinking.

"You're lucky I haven't turned you in, you know." The woman began, fixing her glasses. Then the bun which held her blonde hair up tidily. "I'll give you a choice. _You_ or _them_."

Then Hatabou blinked almost instantaneously, snapping back to reality. His dark eyes looked up to her, almost seeming innocent for a moment. Funny. "For what, jo?" He asked.

"Whatever I decide." She added in eagerly, approaching the smaller. Her fingertips lightly touched the flag that stuck out from his head. Then, she gave it a flick, which earned her a cringe from Hatabou. But she just laughed at his reaction, stepping to the side to study his face. His eyes stayed right on her form now, rather than staring blankly.

"I'm not going to discuss this, jo," came Hatabou's reply as he finally turned away submissively, arms crossing over his chest. "Another time, yeah? I'll think about it."

That wasn't enough for the woman. She simply shook her head, her wry smirk curling her tinted lips. "Now, and only now. Or I will just have to exterminate all of you lot. Even Chibita." She seemed to circle him, like a lioness on the prowl for her next meal.

Hatabou and Chibita haven't spoken since they were kids, but Hatabou almost looked offended when she even mentioned his name. And Hatabou wasn't even sure Chibita remembered he existed. However, Hatabou wasn't buying into her threats. Most warnings like these never really meant anything. Mostly just for bluffing. A hoax. So he shrugged her off, attempting to go on his way to his home.

And she didn't stop him.

...

"I'll get it!" Jyushimatsu's voice rang from the halls as he rushed towards the front door after hearing the doorbell. He almost ran a little too fast and just barely bumped into the door before opening it. However, the sight before him turned his excitable smile and blank expression into a worried one.

"Who is it?" Choromatsu asked, approaching his younger brother. As he approached the door, he was met with a beaten and bruised Chibita. The poor boy's small form trembling. The two brothers parted, coaxing Chibita into coming inside quickly. "What the hell happened?" Choromatsu asked, looking Chibita over quickly.

Bruises painted purple and blue against his limbs and splattered against his cheek in his dark splotch. His knuckles were splotched purple as well, showing he didn't go down without a fight. On some of his knuckles, the skin scraped and were bleeding slightly. Choromatsu lead Chibita into their bathroom to tend to the wounds.

Jyushimatsu gave one last glanced outside before closing the door. He swore he saw something. A shadow. It lingered for a while before slowly dissipating, leaving. The predator not finding any interest in staying since it's prey was now in the hands of six other people. Outnumbered.

Jyushimatsu locked the door, joining Choromatsu.

Chibita didn't speak, almost embarrassed to have to get the sextuplets' help. Usually he tried to keep up a 'tough boy' front, where he pretends no one can hurt him because he's made of fucking steel. But under that wall of steel lay a heart of glass. Easily broken and hard to fix once shattered. His eyes stared at Choromatsu's hands as they bandaged his bloodied knuckles.

"You don't have to tell us if you don't want to. But, fuck, you're a wreck." Choromatsu mumbled, finishing off the bandages before getting a warm washcloth to wipe dabs of blood on his face. Choromatsu's words made Chibita grunt dismissively, turning his head away.

When everything was done, Chibita looked to Choromatsu, then to Jyushimatsu and huffed a tiny, "thanks". Choromatsu just nodded, still worried for the poor boy. Whatever had happened, it seemed dire. But then Chibita began speaking again, relieving him.

"Got fucking mugged," he said. "Never thought that'd happen in a town like this."

Choromatsu's lips curled into a frown, just as Karamatsu entered the room. Instantly, Karamatsu was in shock seeing Chibita like this. Instantly, the blue clad brother lifted the smaller up into his arms. "You got mugged!?"

Chibita got quiet, looking at Karamatsu with tired eyes. "That's what I said." He said, sighing. Being in Karamatsu's arms was comforting to say the least, especially after such event. Even though he was being a little...loud.

"Oh, my poor little dove... my shooting star..." Karamatsu seemed to only hug tighter as time went on. Chibita rolled his eyes, used to Karamatsu's pet names by now. But this wasn't exactly the time to be a cutesy.

"Put me down, Kara-boy." Chibita said, rubbing his eyes.

Karamatsu set him down, a frown on his face. He looked as if he were about to cry, which made Chibita sigh again. This time more dramatically. "It's not that bad." He said. "I'm just lucky most of my money is stashed at home, damn it..."

"Look, Chibita," Choromatsu began with a warm and gentle smile, "maybe you should stay here for a while your wounds heal." He offered, to which Chibita just shook his head. "And maybe have one of us with you when you're working."

"No, no. I won't bother you with that."

"You won't! You can sleep on the couch in the other room. It's really no big deal. And I'm sure Karamatsu is more than happy to - uh... be around with you all day." Choromatsu nodded.

Karamatsu also nodded, in agreement.

Chibita sighed, crossing his tiny arms over his chest. "Okay, fine. Only for a little while. I can fend for myself, ya idjit. If you think I look bad, you should'a seen the other guy."

...

Chibita recovered quickly. The next day, he was working perfectly fine. And Karamatsu was with him every step he took that day. Karamatsu watched him as he cooked, as he served, as he did everything. Maybe out of paranoia of what might happen if he would look away for once second. Even after Chibita reassured him that the mugging was probably a onetime thing. No worries.

And so Karamatsu stayed watching over him like a bodyguard, eyeing anyone who looked suspicious. Before he knew it, it was dusk. The sun set slowly over the horizon. What a romantic setting! Karamatsu sat next to Chibita as they both began relaxing now that business slowed down.

"So? How did I do?" Karamatsu spoke up. Chibita raised a brow in confusion.

"Do what?"

"Guard you." Karamatsu rested his cheek on his palm with a smirk. Chibita rolled his eyes, lips curling in a smirk of his own.

"Ya did fine, ya idjit. Even though nothin' really happened that you...needed to guard me for."

Karamatsu grinned, leaning back against his chair. Crack. Karamatsu jumped at the sudden noise, almost falling backwards. "W-What was that?" He asked after securing himself in his seat, looking around. With the sun lowering, it was hard to see. Chibita laughed a little.

"Probably not anythin', Kara-boy. Just a rabbit, or a cat." Chibita watched as Karamatsu continued to look around before regaining his composure.

Then, he stood up. "I'm gonna go check around, just in case." He said, in an attempt to seem heroic. But it only made Chibita sigh.

"You guys come around here all the time, this late at night. It's nothin'." Chibita continued to reassure. However, he couldn't help but become a little wary. He watched Karamatsu walk around the Oden cart, in search of anything or anyone who could have made the noise.

Then another crack.

The two men stopped, in silence for a moment. When suddenly Chibita gasped and yelped, "Kara!"

Karamatsu had no time to react before he felt a sharp jab against the back of his neck. His movement becoming sluggish at almost an instant. Vision become blurred together. It felt as if he had drunk fifty beers. With his last bout of consciousness, his eyes searched for Chibita, getting one last glance at someone pulling his friend's small body across the ground.


	2. Chapter 2

"You're a liar," A man spoke, "a cheat."

But these words weren't acid to Hatabou. Didn't sting. They were bitter and salty, which didn't seem to affect him in the slightest. The young man rested his cheek on his palm, at his desk, staring at his grouped employees with un-amusement on his face.

"Sure, jo. But what exactly do I lie about, other than acting childish... Which, honestly, isn't a lie." Hatabou glanced from his male employees, to the female. The one who had threatened him long before. Eyes narrowed.

"Everything." The man replied, crossing his arms over his chest. He knew that wasn't a good argument, so he glanced to the blonde woman. She fixed her glasses, looking through a stack of files she was holding within her arms. Each one held records of numerous pages of evidence to use against Hatabou. Her eyes shot a sly look to Hatabou, but the boy was surprisingly unfaltered, even in the midst of possible danger. Then, she smirked.

The blonde stepped forward, placing the files onto Hatabou's desk. It was as though she had been collecting all of this over the entire span of her career there, just to pull this plan through. Hatabou glanced, just for a moment, to the files. But then returned to stare up at the woman threateningly. As she opened the files, numerous accounts of murder and fraud spilled from within the folder, as well as other miscellaneous things. Even pictures were included. However, if this didn't convince him to give everything he had to her and the rest of his employees, she had more. And she knew how to get under his skin, even though he pretends not to care.

Hatabou absentmindedly gave a quick look through the papers. "Okay, jo. I sort of thought you guys knew about this long before, anyway." He finally spoke, leaning back in his chair. "Besides, I have enough money to own the police. Keep them quiet. And you know the dangers of pulling stuff like this against me..."

"Right?"

But it seemed she was as strong as steel as he was himself. Unfaltered in every way. Unaffected. "Of course. But if you don't take this as a word of caution, then maybe something else will." Her words were laced with venom. "Last night, we found someone special. Someone to...seal the deal." Her body leaned over his desk, getting face to face with Hatabou. "The one you love most."

Now that changed the blank look Hatabou had. "I don't love anyone." He denied, but the worried expression on his face said otherwise. Good. Now he was beginning to crack. The woman leaned a bit closer, which made Hatabou uncomfortable.

"I know you do. And I know you know who exactly I'm talking about." She finally backed up, standing up a straight again and returning to the male employee's side. "We went on a hunt."

The black haired male nodded, putting his hands on his hips. "It was easy to get him... Even with a friend, they were both too clueless to notice their surroundings. And surely, even if they put up a fight, they'd both have been too weak." He boasted. It was his turn to chip at Hatabou's walls. "Oh, how sad it was. And he really tried to put up a fight. But he was so tiny, it was easy to just hold his hands together and punch him in the head a couple times until he fell unconscious."

Hatabou seemed okay throughout the whole story. At least, until the ending. When they mentioned harming him. Chibita. That's when he looked away for a moment, breathing becoming heavy, as if he were holding back the worst sides of him that he didn't want anyone to see. "You...you could be bluffing." He said quietly.

Both the man and the woman looked to each other, smiling wide. It seemed they were as sadistic as Hatabou was. And even more. "We have him right now. But he's still sleeping. He hasn't woken up at all since we got him." The man spoke. "But we could take you to see him, if you'd like."

Hatabou stood quickly, approaching the two. Although he was half their size, he didn't look like he would hesitate to attack if anything went wrong.

"Okay, jo. Take me there. Now."

...

Karamatsu returned home the next morning, the affects of the drug still wearing off, causing him to be very sluggish and drowsy. And of course his shitty brothers didn't notice anything was wrong. Even though he hadn't returned home all night.

"Oh hey, Karamatsu." Osomatsu was to first to notice his arrival. It seemed him and his brothers were playing cards together. "You're just in time to play cards! We started a new round." He said, shuffling the cards before dealing them to his brothers.

Jyushimatsu looked up at Karamatsu, his usual wide open-mouthed smile on his face. "I won the last one!" He bragged, happily. But Karamatsu didn't even look at them before going to their bedroom in silence. Jyushimatsu looked to his other brothers, a look of pure confusion on his face.

"Huh, I wonder what's wrong with him." Osomatsu sighed, just starting the card game without him now.

Karamatsu stayed sitting on their bed, hugging his knees to his chest. Not making a sound or even moving in the slightest. At least, until tears began pooling in his eyes. That's when he began hiccuping quietly and sniffling, his body jerking from his sobs. Of course when he thought he was doing good, he had to fuck up in some way. If he just were paying attention enough, maybe he could have saved Chibita. And now he had absolutely no clue where he was. He wasn't at the oden stand, where he passed out at and he wasn't at his own home. What kind of bodyguard couldn't even guard?

He could hear his brothers laughing from the other room, having a good time while he was ignored. Typical, just typical. And Karamatsu figured mentioning Chibita being kidnapped wouldn't even make them bat an eye, would it?

But eventually, they finished playing cards, and moved on to do other things. Ichimatsu peeked into their room, looking at the crying Karamatsu. But Ichimatsu didn't seem bothered by it, even though he sat beside his brother and asked what was wrong. Kara looked to his younger brother with tears in his eyes, still streaming down his face.

"C'mon...what's wrong?" Ichimatsu asked, sternly. He wasn't one to be comforting and loving in times like this. He preferred to be direct. Karamatsu shook his head.

"I-I-" He began speaking, but paused when he heard someone else enter the room. It was Choromatsu. At least he was more loving than the rest of the bunch. Like a brotherly...father. Choro sat next to Karamatsu on the other side of him, looking visibly worried for him. He had overheard Ichimatsu asking Karamatsu what was wrong.

"Kara - seriously. What's wrong?" Choromatsu asked, putting a hand on Karamatsu's comfortingly.

Karamatsu had to glance away from them as more sobs wracked his body, which only made Ichimatsu get more nervous about this situation. Ichi already wasn't used to social situations in general, but seeing his brother cry not only pained him, but made him panic because he had no clue what to do. "Spit it out, Kara!" Ichimatsu did was he did most, be aggressive. Which earned him a gentle scolding from Choromatsu.

"Shh. Whatever it was...it must have been pretty bad. D-Did something happen last night?" Choromatsu continued to hold Karamatsu's hand gently.

Then, Karamatsu nodded.

"What happened?"

"Chibita's gone."


End file.
